Sillon Beach and Sand Sailing

What it is

The Sillon is Saint-Malo's great beach: three kilometres of sand from the Porte Saint-Vincent to Paramé, the longest in the city. It includes the Grande Plage, the plage de la Hoguette and the plage de Rochebonne. Behind it runs the Digue, a 1,671-metre sea promenade among late-19th-century villas; in front, a row of oak-trunk groynes that has become the image of the beach.

It is an urban beach open to the wind, good for swimming in summer and, above all, for wind activities: kites, windsurfing and char à voile, the sail cart that runs over the sand at low tide.

A little history

The Sillon was a tongue of sand with dunes and windmills that joined Paramé with the walled city and was the only dry route on foot at low tide. The first causeway was built in 1509 and was rebuilt several times. The present Digue was raised between 1883 and 1913, and the oak groynes, devised in the early 19th century by the engineer Robinault, protect the wall from the force of the sea.

What to do

• Stroll along the Digue. Flat and tarmacked, it can be done with a pushchair or wheelchair, and takes you on foot to Paramé. At spring tides and high water the waves leap over the wall: watch from a distance.
• Swim. In summer the beach is supervised, with a lifeguard post. The tide changes the beach a great deal: at low water the sea is far away; at high water there is hardly any sand.
• Char à voile and sailing. The Surf School, at 2 avenue de la Hoguette, at the end of the plage de la Hoguette, offers 1 h 30 char à voile sessions from €35 per person, according to the Brittany tourism listing, open from age 9. It also gives Hobie Cat 15 catamaran courses from age 14, introductory sailing and windsurfing in school holidays. Its listing states it is open all year Monday to Saturday; confirm hours and the tide for each session on its website or by phone (02 99 40 07 47).
• Continue on foot towards Rothéneuf. At the end of the Sillon the GR 34 stretch to Rothéneuf begins.

Facilities

The beach has showers, drinking water, toilets, a children's club, bars and restaurants on the Digue, and adapted access for people with disabilities. It is open all year.

Getting there and parking

From intra-muros you leave by the Porte Saint-Vincent and go down to the Grande Plage. By car, the practical thing is to leave the car at the Paul Féval park and ride and get around by bus.

When to go

From July to August for swimming, with the beach supervised. In spring and autumn, for walking and for the spring tides, when the sea pounds the Digue. For char à voile you need low tide and wind; the school sets sessions according to the tide. At sunset the Digue fills with people strolling and looking towards the rampart.

With children and with a dog

With small children it works well at mid-tide: there is sand to play on and the water is not far. Teenagers are the audience for char à voile. Dogs are banned on the beach from April to September; along the Digue you can walk the dog on a lead.